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Pregnancy

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Original poster

Present 'from baby' to siblings....

26 replies

ilovespinach · 26/02/2012 09:58

What do you think to this? A waste of money or a good idea? Siblings in question will be 6 and 4 when the new baby arrives.....

I remember we bought something for ds1 when ds2 arrived but he was 21 months at the time.......

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fuckityfuckfuckfuck · 26/02/2012 10:00

I bought dd a little Build a Bear outfit when ds was born, she was 4 at the time and loved it. This time she'll be 7 and ds is 3 and I have some Thomas track and a Monster High doll stashed away to whip out at the appropriate moment. I'm not sure I'll say it's from the baby though, more a 'new big brother and sister' present iyswim.

Original poster

ilovespinach · 26/02/2012 10:04

you're right that sounds much better...

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pinkgirlythoughts · 26/02/2012 10:06

I received a SuperTed book 'from' my sister when she was born the day before my third birthday. I think I got a troll (remember those?!) and a video when my second sister was born, when I was seven. A nice idea, I think, everyone is buying presents for the new baby, so it's quite nice that the older ones get a present too.

Original poster

ilovespinach · 26/02/2012 10:15

ok sorted then.....ds1 and 2 are desperate for 2 cars. I shall secretly buy them and put them away for when the time comes :)

OP posts:

thistlemuncher · 26/02/2012 11:09

We've bought DS a bingo type game and a jigsaw (he's 2.3) i.e. something that he can play/do sitting on the sofa next to me whilst I'm BF.

milk · 26/02/2012 11:14

I have mine sorted (I am so happy I have something organised)

DS will be 18 months when DC2 will be born. We have bought him Little Tikes Pick Up Truck :) Although I think I'm going to enjoy it more than he will

SilentBoob · 26/02/2012 11:40

I don't really understand presents from the new baby. My 5yo would give me a face and point out that babies can't go to shops and don't have any money. So then it's a present from her father and I... but why does she need a present? It sort of seems like it's to make up for having a baby sibling. Like compensation? "Sorry about this, here have a Puppy in my Pocket". I dunno. It just seems all wrong to me.

I am due (overdue actually) my 3rd baby and the whole family is really excited, and meeting the baby is enough of a treat. They don't need toys as well. What toy could be as wonderful as meeting the newest member of our family?

babybouncer · 26/02/2012 13:58

I've got a few Peppa Pig figures and a book for DS (nearly 3) and he came with me to mothercare yesterday to choose a present from him to the baby. I want him to feel involved and excited about his new baby bro/sis and I know presents will get him excited so he will associate them together. TBH I'm not really a baby person (except for my own), so I guess I'm sympathetic to the idea that it's not necessarily that exciting for others!

BikeRunSki · 26/02/2012 14:07

DD (4 months) gave DS (then just three) a talking Buzz Lightyear when she was born. It was brilliant, kept him occuppied for hours when I was tied up with the baby. He got the matching Woody for Christmas.

SilentBoob · 26/02/2012 14:10

But when you say that dd gave him a Buzz Lightyear, do you mean you said "Oh look Ds! Dd has got you a present! Say thank you to your little sister..."? Or just that he was given a Buzz Lightyear amongst all the excitement and chaos of a new baby in the family?

SilentBoob · 26/02/2012 14:12

And some siblings get presents on the day their siblings are born. Are they encouraged to believe that the baby was hiding the present in Mummy's tummy and brought it out with them? Serious question. I don't understand.

milk · 26/02/2012 14:32

SilentBoob, I take it your kids don't believe in Santa

SilentBoob · 26/02/2012 14:35

Erm... we do Santa, but no the 5 yr old doesn't really believe that a magical fat man flies all round the world in a night delivering presents. She enjoys the fun of it all though. She wants to believe it but asks a lot of searching questions.

I'm honestly not trying to poopoo the baby sibling present idea, I just don't get it.

helenlouisey · 26/02/2012 21:31

I think it's a nice idea, my DS will be 3 and 1/2 when this baby arrives in a few months and I'm going to take him out to choose a present, likely a cuddly toy, for the new baby, and when we bring the new baby home, there will be a present from the baby for my DS, probably a small tractor or something. It's just a token gift so my DS doesn't feel too left out with all the gifts his little brother and sister will be getting and I think it's a nice thing to do, nothing more really.

luckysocks · 26/02/2012 22:21

We'll do the same - DS (2.6) is used to having our undivided attention and is currently about the whole baby prospect, so I can't imagine that he'll be particularly over-excited by our new arrival unless we do some basic damage control!

StarlightDicKenzie · 26/02/2012 22:29

I'm probably cold-hearted but neither my two 5 and 3 will get anything.

But being no.3 it isn't like the new baby will get anything either.

DS will be non-plussed with the baby's arrival and dd will be excited and want to help and we'll let her.

A friend got her DS a big box of Lego from his baby sister and upon receipt he declared 'no wonder you were so fat mum'!

BeanutPutter · 26/02/2012 22:34

I told DD that DS had morse code kicked me a message about him knowing she would like a scooter. She felt my stomach and agreed that was indeed what he was saying. We purchased said scooter next day. In the shop she was so excited about picking a color all the while with her hand on my stomach....of course DS agreed pink is what she needed!

Caveat, she was 2.

SilentBoob · 27/02/2012 03:09

See, the kicking morse code thing I can get on board with. It makes a sort of sense. Similarly I have told my daughter that the baby definitely likes her voice best because it wriggles more for her than anyone else, and is very excited to meet big sis.

Maybe it's a second child thing and I have just forgotten. I was utterly preoccupied with the effect on my pfb when I had number 2, it was my main worry.

This one is number 3 and tbh they can all just get on with it and enjoy the lovely new baby. It all feels very different.

sleepywombat · 27/02/2012 03:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MurrayHewitt · 27/02/2012 04:11

SilentBoob I think I was just so conscious of not making my PFB feel pushed out that I was keen to give them a gift from the new baby whether they believed it or not. Luckily most of my family and friends were as thoughtful, so also made a real fuss of PFB. I think it is sweet, luckily my children aren't as cynical as adults

milk · 27/02/2012 07:45

BeanutPutter, that is so cute

Spagbolagain · 27/02/2012 07:57

We did for DS1, 2.2. We just said it was a present for the baby arriving. I didn't just want to get another toy, I got one of those pop up play tents- the intention being it would also serve as a bit of a bolt hole for him with the noise of the baby and lots of visitors through the house. Went down really well.

DS2 got lots of presents, so was a bit worries about jealousy. I let DS1 do most of the opening, and he wasn't that interested in what was inside, so was a good approach.

Think all this depends on age of the child. For a 5 yr old I wouldn't be worried as they can be more involved and should be a bit better at understanding sharing the limelight

DarrowbyEightFive · 27/02/2012 08:10

"What toy could be as wonderful as meeting the newest member of our family?"

Oh dear, I do rather think you're projecting your own feelings onto your very young DC. Is it going to be a bit of a shock for you if they're not quite as welcoming as you've anticipated?

I think giving a small toy is a nice idea for a young elder sibling, but don't take it too seriously. We thought DD1 would like a doll because she played with them a bit in her nursery, but she somehow managed to lose said doll soon after arrival and never mourned it (somehow symbolic for hoping baby sibling would also disappear?). But I think it was nevertheless a good idea to associate 'here's baby' with 'here's prezzie for you'. What you tell DC1 is up to you - at 2 or 3 it might be 'look what the baby has brought for you', whereas for an older child you might say 'this is a present from me and dad to celebrate your little bro/sis being born, because the baby will get presents from people, just like you did when you were born, so it's only fair you get something from us too'.

I always make sure if I'm sending a present for a friend's 2nd/3rd child that I include something for the elder one(s). A younger child will already have a stock of clothes, and what the parents need more is a content older child who's not throwing tantrums because of feeling left out.

SilentBoob · 27/02/2012 08:27

I'm not expecting them to be welcoming in an adult way. I am expecting them to be excited, interested, pleased, and then bored.

I guess my children have a lot of toys so getting a new toy is not that exciting a thing to happen, whereas getting a new sibling is at least out of the ordinary. And my new baby will not be bought any presents, so there's no need to compensate the older two.

What it comes down to is that different things work for different families. I just know that if I bought my kids a new toy to celebrate or compensate for the baby being born it would be quickly discarded. Great if it works for you - I see how it might work now, but I questioned it in the first place only because I didn't really get it and was curious, not because I feel particularly strongly about it.

LotusPalm · 27/02/2012 08:44

We've gone slightly overboard and bought DS1 a wooden kitchen... In our defense, it is his 2nd birthday 3 weeks later and it will keep him entertained for hours on end. Not sure how i can convince himt eh new baby bought it with him though...

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